Comparison

Square vs Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Square

This app is a comprehensive point-of-sale system designed for restaurants. It helps manage orders, payments, online ordering, menus, and table layouts. Gain insights with real-time sales reports and improve staff efficiency for dine-in, takeout, and online orders.

Highlights
  • Order and payment processing
  • Online ordering site creation
  • Menu management
  • Table and floor management
  • Real-time sales reports
  • Offline payment acceptance
Features
Read full description

The Square for Restaurants Point of Sale app helps you manage front- and back-of-house operations for your full-service restaurant, quick-service restaurant, fast-casual restaurant, bar, or brewery. Get the powerful point-of-sale system designed to serve guests who are dining in, getting takeout, or ordering online. Handle orders, set up menus, manage table layouts, accept payments, enable coursing, get insights from real-time sales reports, and more. ORDERS & PAYMENTS * Turn tables faster and keep lines moving. Increase staff efficiency with an easy-to-use, intuitive interface. * Empower servers to get every order right with the ability to enter orders the way people talk. * Take orders even when you’re short-staffed with QR codes. ONLINE ORDERING * Create a free, customizable online ordering site. * Manage all orders from your POS, including in-person, online, and third-party delivery orders. * Reach more diners with Google, Instagram, and Facebook selling integrations. MENU MANAGEMENT * Create and customize your menus from the office, remotely, or directly from your POS. * Keep service running smoothly with your staff always in the know of what’s selling and what’s about to sell out. FLEXIBLE PAYMENTS * Accept all major credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay so you never have to turn a diner away. * Set up automatic tipping, move or assign checks to your staff, reopen closed checks, and manage voids with just a few taps. * Never miss a sale with offline payments. Learn more at https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/offline-payments-guide.  * Square handles all PCI compliance fees or chargebacks on your behalf. * Get deposits in your bank account as fast as the next business day or access your sales instantly with a Square Checking account. Learn more at squareup.com/us/en/banking.  FLOOR MANAGEMENT * Customize your floor plan with intuitive click-and-drag layouts. * Tip out staff, close out the cash drawer, manage comps and voids, and run close-of-day reports all from the POS. * Keep tables turning by monitoring their real-time status. * Stay on pace with coursing — letting the kitchen know when to hold or start firing dishes. SUPPORT * Customer support available to guide you through any questions. Learn more about Square for Restaurants and set yourself up from Square Dashboard before activating this app on an iOS device: https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants

About

Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)

Streamline restaurant operations with a comprehensive iPad-based platform. Manage menus, orders, payments, and employee tasks efficiently. Offers offline functionality and detailed reporting for businesses of all sizes.

Highlights
  • Real-time menu and floor plan management
  • Tableside ordering and payment processing
  • Offline mode for uninterrupted service
  • Comprehensive sales and employee reporting
  • Multi-store management capabilities
  • Extensive integration options
Read full description

Imagine upgrading every single aspect of your restaurant with a simple touch. We’re talking quicker service, increased profits and simplified workflows for your front and back of house. Lightspeed Restaurant (K Series) lets you run your entire restaurant via iPad from anywhere. Tailored for pubs, bars, cafes, bakeries, hotels and both casual dining and fine dining restaurants. Lightspeed Restaurant (K Series) is a seamless, intuitive and reliable restaurant management solution trusted by restaurateurs around the world. Menu and floor plan - Create and modify your menu and floor plan in real time. - Multiple adjustable floor plans - Customisable menu - Real-time editing Ordering and payments Go where your customers are and take orders on the spot while they’re being sent directly to the kitchen or the bar. - Tableside ordering by course or by seat - Order sequence suggestions - Mobile service - Takeout and delivery - Accept any payment type or currency - Review and adjust items in bulk Offline mode Internet down? Don't sweat it. Lightspeed Restaurant will continue to process and send orders to the kitchen or bar, and data will sync to your back office once the internet is back up. Thanks to Lightspeed TrueSync serverless technology, your ePOS doesn’t quit. - Uninterrupted service - Fully-featured offline mode - Automatic syncs and backups Reporting and data Get unrestricted access to over 50 detailed reports via iPad, mobile phone or desktop computer. - Sales reports - Product reports - End-of-day reports - User reports - Accounting reports - Mobile reporting Free onboarding and support With Lightspeed Restaurant, you get support whenever you need it. - Training and support - Free onboarding - Phone support - Email and chat support Employee management Manage your employees with a comprehensive suite of tools and integrations available. - Clock in and clock out - Customisable employee permissions - Employee performance reports - Set up individual accounts - Scheduling integrations Multi-store management Whether you’re managing one or multiple locations, Lightspeed Restaurant (K Series) has the tools to streamline how you operate and minimise complexity. - Consolidated multi-store reports - Shared products - Multiple price-lists - Location reporting - Inventory management and transfers - Centralised and localised gift cards - Customer data per location Add ons Choose from a host of add-ons to further boost your restaurant’s productivity and elevate the customer experience. - Lightspeed Delivery - Built-in Xero Integration - Lightspeed Live: mobile reporting application - Kitchen Display System - Customer Facing Display Integrations Our network of over 95 integration partners allows you to tailor your Lightspeed Restaurant ePOS to your business’ specific needs. - Payment terminals - Online reservation tools - Click and collect modules - Hotel property management systems (PMS) - Accounting suites - Business analytics - Employee scheduling - Inventory management software - And more “With a live feed of all transactions from different channels, we can better allocate staff for busy periods and use data to generate reports.” —Timothy Stevenson, CPRESS Juice “A lot of other systems make things so much more complicated than they need to be. The simplicity of Lightspeed just makes running a business that much easier.” —Ben Ryan, Mamma Dough “Lightspeed understood immediately the challenges we were facing. The Back Office is easy to use, and allows us to easily track our sales metrics and KPIs. That helped us stay on top of things during our transition from pop-up to brick and mortar restaurant.” —Seb Shaw, Morty and Bob’s Questions? You can always reach our friendly team of specialists by calling +44 203 695 9599 or by going to our Help Center for helpful tips, training videos and system updates.

Screenshots

Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Square at 4.3 against Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)'s 2.8. Square also leads on ratings volume (4.2K vs 15). Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)'s advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Square holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Square has 4.2K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Square's written reviews are positive against 27% of Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Square ships an update weekly, Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Square versus Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K): the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSquareLightspeed Restaurant POS (K)
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (4.2K ratings) — better2.8 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews34.4% of reviews — better27.3% of reviews
Number of ratings4.2K — better15
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.1 — better18.5
Further details — not scored
Size792 MB403 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperBlock, Inc.Lightspeed Commerce Inc.

Customer experience

Square

All ratings4,183 ratings
Positive82.7%
Neutral4.1%
Negative13.1%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive34.4%
Neutral7.5%
Negative58.1%

Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)

All ratings15 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive27.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative63.6%

Bugs and requests

Square

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Orders not processing correctly
  • Transactions not completing
  • Inventory updates not syncing
  • Shift reports not printing properly
  • Card reader disconnection issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to split items across checks
  • Hold/save orders functionality
  • Improved inventory management
  • Better reporting and analytics
  • Mobile app for managing the restaurant

Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Square

No in-app purchases

None

Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Square free?
Square is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) free?
Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Square or Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)?
Square is rated higher. Square averages 4.3 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) averages 2.8 from 15 ratings.
Do Square or Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) have ads?
Neither Square nor Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Square or Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)?
Square ships an update weekly, and Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) every 2 weeks. Most recently, Square was updated on September 23, 2026 and Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) on September 13, 2026.

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